Ready to take the plunge with Finasteride - Couple of questions.

[rudimentary]

Hey all,

After 7 months of buying alternative treatments, natural treatments, etc,
I have come to the sad conclusion I've wasted a great deal of money and time.

So, after thinking about it much, I believe I am ready to take the plunge and start on Propecia so I can save my hair.
I have some thinning on my hairline but it's not bad (yet) so I want to be proactive and keep it that way.

I'm, of course, a little scared of the side effects and have a couple of questions, if any of you guys can help me out.

1. What is, in your experience, the actual percentage of men that get sexual side effects while on this drug? I've heard everything from 3 to 18. Info?

2. If say, 100 men got side effects with finasteride, what percentage of those 100 men will develop persistent, long-term sexual side effects?

3. If you experienced side effects, how long after stopping the drug did the side effects subside?

I'd HIGHLY appreciate your answers as I need some guidance.

Thanks!

- Rudi.

 

[Quantum Cat]

I have come to the sad conclusion I've wasted a great deal of money and time.

sadly, I could have told you that 7 months ago. I see this story repeated so often on this board, and I did the same thing - wasted precious time and hair trying useless 'alternative' treatments before fully educating myself about male pattern baldness treatments. The biggest regret I read on here are by guys who wish they had started Finsateride earlier - and it's a regret I have too.


You're smart to have reservations and be cautious, but if you worry too much about possible side effects with finasteride, you're more likely to experience them, bearing in mind that much of it is psychological. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, and many guys sabotage their own chances of success by convincing themselves they will get sides. At least that's my opinion.

My advice is - if you've made the decision to start Propecia - simply pop the pill each day, forget about it, and get on with your life. Remembering that it's an approved medication and safe for the majority of people, and that what you read on the internet is not always accurate or at all representative of reality. I'm not claiming it's a totally safe drug - and a minority do experience genuine side effects, so that's something to consider. If you're looking for an exact percentage, you won't get a definitive answer though.

You must consult a doctor before starting, if you haven't already done so. And for peace of mind also talk to the Dr about your concerns

 

[Rawtashk]

finasteride is well tolerated in all the clinical trials that have been done on the drug. The side effect scale ranges from minor, to major. The "minorest" of them is probably watery sperm. I have that, but I've had my motility tested, and it's A-OK. So, I really don't consider that a side effect. No one can give you specific numbers on how many people out of 100 that got sides would have the sides persist, I just know that's it's highly highly highly unlikely that they'd persist more than 3 months. I'd say at the MOST you'd be looking at 5-10 out of 100, AT MOST. So, you'd have about a 99.99% chance of being a-ok.

Remember this, the Placebo Effect is a VERY real thing. I'll also say that in the phase III trials of Propecia, 1.2% of men quit it due to "adverse sexual side effects". Oh, and those 1.2% of men were IN THE PLACEBO GROUP! They somehow were so sexually affected that they had to stop taking....a sugar pill. Basically, if I give you a pill and then tell you that it might give you weiner problems....you're likely to have weiner problems, no matter what, if you stress out about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo#Symptoms_and_conditions

 

[rudimentary]

Well what the hell. I got a prescription, and took my first pill today with a meal. So far nothing to report, I took it early like around 11 AM, and it's 11 PM now, had sex with my girlfriend and everything felt fine.

I'm going to stay positive, I'm telling myself "This WILL work, no sides". At least that way I won't get placebo side effects.

 

[Helel]

The mind does have a lot of power over the body. When I found out that my hair was falling out, I went into a deep depression. I started feeling like my body was shutting down. I was getting sick, my body kept aching, and I even noticed that it had effected my sex drive. During this period, I felt like my penis went numb and I went days with this awkward numb sensation. Why did this happen? It was because I felt like an old man and so my body decided to reflect that.

I'm still debating if I should get on finasteride. I know about the side effects that it comes with but I think that it might actually do the opposite and BOOST my sex drive because I will feel like I'm on top of the world again. These threads help a lot. I wish you luck buddy!

 

[rudimentary]

Uh oh.

3 Day, woke up middle of the night, horrible ringing in the right ear and my dick feels numb and tried arousing myself and it isn't working.

- - - Updated - - -

Yea, screw this stuff, not for me. I flushed it down the toilet, I got horrible side effects after 3 days, I hope I go back to normal soon.